The reforming of hydrocarbons to form synthesis gas (H2 and CO) is a well established industrial process. Such processes operate essentially at steady state, and under controlled conditions. On board fuel reformers have been proposed for fuel cell-powered vehicles, but have not yet been commercialised. Fuel cell catalysts are poisoned by even small amounts of CO, and this therefore necessitates considerable further treatment of the reformate to remove CO.
It has been proposed to reform exhaust gas components from gasoline engines, for example in SAE-07NAPLES-175. There is some current interest in reforming because of the potential for recovery of energy in the form of combustion heat in the exhaust by conversion of exhaust components into fuel components of higher calorific value (H2 and CO). This could permit an increase in overall efficiency of a gasoline engine and an associated decrease in fuel consumption and a decrease in CO2 emissions. Further, it is believed that improvements in levels of regulated pollutants can be achieved by including hydrogen in the fuel of a gasoline engine.
The use of exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) is now commonplace on road vehicles, primarily because of the reduction of the NOx pollutants. However, there is also the potential for some efficiency gains.